Between The Shadows
by nightshade468
Summary: When Kat Brodie’s grandmother dies, her mother drags her away from the only home she’s ever really known to the suburban Maxville, and enrolls her in Sky High for her junior year, throwing her life upside down. Rating may change.
1. Chapter I

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Sky High and all its students and related characters belong to Disney. Any other super heroes you recognize belong either to a) themselves, or b) to their respective companies. I don't own anything related to the X-Men, Superman, Spiderman, or Batman. The name Shadowcat technically belongs to Kitty Pryde, but for my purposes it belongs to my own Kat Brodie, who is a completely different character. Angela Brodie is based loosely on the character Angela Henson of Angela's Eyes, so I'm not sure if I technically own her or not. Oh, well. If you recognize it, it's not mine.

Summary: When Kat Brodie's grandmother dies, her mother drags her away from the only home she's ever really known to the suburban Maxville, and enrolls her in Sky High for her junior year, she's understandably a little nervous. But by knowing the people she meets there, she finds herself, and learns that not everything has to be done alone.

**Between the Shadows**

by nightshade468

Chapter I

I, Kathryn Janet Brodie, hate funerals. No, scratch that, I despise them. I've got nothing against the color black, but that, combined with the priest's sad attempt at an uplifting sermon, and the sense of death I always get when I go anywhere near a cemetery gives me the creeps. And for the love of God (no pun intended), at that moment I was praying that someone would go up and shake Father Macklepenny. His feigned cheerfulness was seriously only making the whole affair more depressing.

Now, I love my grandmother. I'd been really close to her pretty much all my life, probably due in large part to the fact that I'd never met my father, much less his parents, and my mom, Angela Brodie, always relied on her own widowed _madre_ to help her deal with her recalcitrant daughter. I actually heard her call me that once. I like the word; it sounds lofty, with just the right amount of stubbornness thrown in.

Ahem... I should probably mention that I have a tendency to ramble on about things that really aren't relevant to what I'm talking about. You have been forewarned. Now, back to the story.

Yes, I had loved Janet Brodie, who I was actually named after. If you hadn't noticed. Anyway, she was an awesome lady. To be honest, I have never known of anyone else's grandmother who would drop her washing in order to catch a football. With mom being so busy working, I actually spent more time with my grandma than out playing with my friends, up until the time I left for the prep school I attended in New York. Or _had_ attended, I suppose, until about a week before the funeral.

Now I was living in Maxville, CT, just south of Gotham City, and I was all set to start my junior year at Sky High, my mother and grandparents' alma mater. Woot. It was a school for super heroes, and was very similar to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, which was where I'd gone up until now.

My mother, Angela Brodie, known to most people (including me, on occasion, if I really want to annoy her) as Angie, is a seer. Her powers enable her to detect if anyone's lying; she sees beneath even the tiniest white lie. She also gets visions of possible future events, as well as things that are happening in the present or have occurred in the past. When my grandma suddenly passed away of unexplainable causes (or at least causes that could not be discovered as of yet) Mom requested a transfer to the Maxville branch of the FBI. She then packed up her seventeen-year-old daughter and moved out of Boston back to her hometown.

As Father Macklepenny wound down his diatribe, I shifted my weight from foot to foot. At this point I was getting really uncomfortable. Although I didn't have her mother's sight or built-in lie detector, I get... senses of things at times, and currently back of my neck was prickling.

I was supremely relieved when we finally trooped back out to the parking lot. The crowd had been decent-sized; my grandmother had been well-respected as both a seer and as a neighbor. I had been shocked to see such illustrious figures as Peter Parker and Clark Kent attending her funeral, but I'd been even more surprised when they'd referred to Janet Brodie as Foresight, the legendary super hero, who'd seemingly dropped off the map several decades before.

Apparently she'd gotten married, had kids, and enjoyed life as a civilian. Huh, I thought to myself. Grandma never said a word. World-famous superhero? Who knew?

Mom was understandably morose as she drove us home. The sun was just beginning to set, and my stomach rumbled, drawing a sad smile from her. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kat, I didn't even think… do you want to stop somewhere?"

"No, Mom," I replied quickly, shaking my head. "I'm ok. I know you want to get home."

But the darn woman put her foot down. Couldn't she see that I would be fine eating leftovers for one more night if it made her feel better? Who wanted to go out and eat in public after attending their grandmother's funeral? No sane person, anyway. But still, she pushed. "No, we're stopping, kiddo. I know you haven't eaten much the past few days, and I understand that, believe me, but I'm sure Grandma wouldn't want you to starve yourself, hmm?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

With a sigh, I nodded, and then agreed to her suggestion of Chinese food. We pulled into the parking lot of the Paper Lantern, and she sighed, reminiscing. "I used to eat here in high school, you know. All of us, we'd come in a big group. Looks like they've redecorated, though," she added as we went in

The place wasn't incredibly big, but it was cozy, and if the full tables were any indication, the food was good. Once we were seated, I browsed through the menu, although I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted.

After we'd ordered their drinks and food, the table sank into silence. Or we did, sitting at the table. 'Cause tables are always silent, aren't they? Never mind.

By then, I was thinking, what is there to say? We've just buried our last remaining family member.

I didn't count my father. I never counted him.

I was dragged from my thoughts as the busboy arrived with the drinks. He was cute, I noticed. About my age, too, unlike the older waitress who'd seated us. He was tall, with black hair pulled back into a short ponytail, and he was wearing a black muscle tee.

I was actually surprised at my own reaction. I hadn't really liked a guy for a while, or even noticed one, really. But this one had gotten my attention right away, which struck me as weird, since I'd been pretty much avoiding the opposite sex. For just a second, I fantasized about breaking my self-imposed rule of 'no guys right now'. He _was_ really cute.

He didn't say anything except to ask whose drink was whose, but as he turned away, he met my eyes and gave me a half-smile.

And so, I was left watching after him with my mouth hanging slightly open. Then I caught myself. My grandmother just died and here I was ogling a boy? What was my problem?

Mom chuckled, and I looked across the table at her, a slightly disbelieving look still on my face. "Do you know him?" I asked her.

"No," she replied, sobering and shaking her head. "But he was cute, huh?"

With an exasperated sigh, I nodded, although I didn't offer any other response. Ok, yeah, he had been cute, but I really didn't want anything in the romance department right now. Nor did I want to be crushing on some random guy whose name I didn't even know.

But he _had_ been really hot.

xxxxxxx

The drive home was silent once again.

Mom broke the quiet. "So, are you excited for tomorrow? Your first day of school and all?"

I shrugged. "I guess so."

She sighed. "Honey, I know this is going to take some getting used to. And I'm sorry you had to leave your friends behind. But you guys can certainly keep in touch, what with all that instant messaging stuff you do. And I really do think you'll like Sky High. I loved it while I was there."

I forced a smile for her sake, but didn't bother lying. There was no point. "You're right, Mom, I do miss my friends. But since coming back here is so important to you, I promise to give this place my best shot. 'Kay?"

She nodded. That was probably more of a concession than she'd expected to get, actually. "Good. And thank you, kiddo."

"Anytime, Mom."

xxxxxxx

a/n: So? So? So? Review, please! Cookies to anyone who knows where Father Macklepenny came from!


	2. Chapter II, parts 1 and 2!

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I in no way lay claim to it. So far, all I own is Kat. And her grandma, who, believe it or not, may actually have a cameo later on in the story. Yes, I realize she's dead. You'll see, mwahaha.

a/n: OH NO! Not the Puss In Boots eyes! AHHH! Can… not… resist! See! I'm writing! Lol. Thank you guys so much for your reviews already. I've never gotten so many for a first chapter the first day I put it up, haha. Never fear, I would never make Kat a /Mary Sue. Even aside from an innate dislike of them (because I have not yet found one true Mary Sue that has ever been what I would call a good piece of writing), they are very difficult to write. I mean, who can relate to someone who's perfect? Nobody is, therefore nobody can. And then, if your character's perfect, what's there to develop? I didn't want this to be one of those 'guy sees gorgeous girl, falls immediately and irreversibly in love' things. I mean, yeah, they saw each other, but there's a heck of a lot more that will go into it than that, believe me. That's why I haven't even told you what Kat looks like yet. I want you guys to get to know her for what's inside her head, not what's on the outside. And trust me, we will hear about her powers, and soon. There's power placement to contend with, after all.

Between The Shadows

by nightshade468

Chapter II

Ah, the beach. I can think of no better place to relax.

The waves pounded against the shoreline, and I lay back on my towel, the rhythmic sound lulling me to sleep…

BRRRRRING! BRRRRRING! BRRRRRING!

Without even opening my eyes, I swung an arm out in the general direction of my nightstand, and after feeling around for a moment, closed my hand around the offending object. With a swing that was a throwback to my days as middle-school softball pitcher, I sent the helpless alarm clock flying towards that wall, and then smiled at the sound of its crash first against said wall, and then down to the floor.

_Ah, a perfect way to start the day._ With a groan, I sat up and stretched, stumbling towards the bathroom, my eyes still mostly closed.

SMACK!

It's a bad idea to stumble around half asleep is a new house. Yes, hindsight is perfect.

Rubbing my now sore forehead, I resumed my wandering in the direction of the shower, this time with my eyes open.

Half an hour later, I finally made it downstairs, now awake and more or less refreshed. I spotted the note on the kitchen table, sitting next to a freshly-made pop tart, and I smiled, reading it.

_Hi, kiddo-_

_I'm so sorry I couldn't hang around to see you off on the bus. Franklin called me into the office early to get all set up. Yes, I know you think it's uncool to ride the bus as a junior, but you'll see. Even the seniors all ride the bus to Sky High, unless their power is flying. Trust me, you'll like it._

_Make sure you eat before you go, and don't forget to actually write down your assignments, Kathryn! I'm sure you'll do fine. Tell Principal Powers I said hello. Oh, and I'm assuming from the crash I heard that I need to pick up another cheap alarm clock on the way home? I thought so._

_Have a wonderful day, love! – Mom_

My smile faded somewhat then, but it was still there. Mom had brought up the issue of the new school, which I _had_ been trying not to think about up 'til now, but that was ok. Heck, it was my first day; I'd be there soon, after all. And I'd make new friends, just as good as my old ones. Not that anybody could really be as awesome as Rogue and John and Bobby, but hey. I didn't really have a choice, so I figured I had to at least _try_.

"Crap!" I glanced up at the clock, then grabbed her bag and the pop tart and ran flat-out out to the corner of her street, just making the bus before it pulled away. My dark brown hair had fallen completely in my face, and I shoved the thick, annoying mess out of my face. Gasping for breath, I climbed up the steps and wheezed, "Is this the bus to Sky High?"

"SHHHH!" The bus driver yelled hoarsely. "You NEVER say that name! What if some super-villain heard you!"

I raised an eyebrow at the guy. "Right. Sorry, man."

He seemed to calm himself, then straightened his had. "I'm Ron Wilson. Bus driver. What's your name, freshie?"

"I'm a junior. Kat Brodie."

"Well, Kat Brodie, find a seat. I've got to get you guys to school. The mayor's office told me yesterday that they've heard of a plot to send giant robots into Maxville, and I'll need to be there to deal with it." He straightened his hat again, and turned back to the wheel.

I nodded to myself, muttering, "Ooookay." The guy seemed nice, though. He got points for that, I supposed.

There were almost no empty seats left on the bus. The only one I could find was next to a kind of smallish kid wearing a bright orange shirt. He seemed to light up when I asked him if he minded, so, smiling back, I sat down.

He held out his hand to shake. "I'm Ethan."

I took it. "Kat."

"So you're a junior too?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Awesome!" He pointed to the seat across the aisle from us. "That's Zach and Magenta. They're juniors also, aside from being truly awesome peoples."

I chuckled, and smiled at the other two. Zach was really tall and gangly, and he was dressed all in white and neon yellow. Magenta was clad all in purple blue and black, with purple streaks in her hair.

"Hey," I asked curiously, "Is Magenta a nickname?"

"Nope," she shot back, grinning. "My parents are just reeeeeealy freaky."

I grinned back, nodding my head regally. "Fair enough."

xxxxxxx

According to Zach, I am the only junior in the history of Sky High to nearly throw up on the way to school. But, after Magenta had elbowed him in the stomach, he did admit that as a new student, he supposed he could forgive me.

"Ow! Crap, what is it with women and hurting a guy!" Magenta and I both smiled beatifically as he hopped around on one foot, trying to sooth the pain in the other. Ethan shook his head at his friend's antics, then grinned, waving at someone in the crowd.

"Yo, Will! Layla!" he called.

I watched as a brown-haired guy and a red-haired girl walked over, their hands clasped. The guy was good-looking enough, I supposed, if you liked the preppy look, dressed all in red, white and blue. The girl was really pretty, her red hair looking incredibly bright against her flowing green blouse.

"You got a ride today?" Magenta asked the girl, raising an eyebrow at the guy who looked like he was her boyfriend. Said boy grinned, squeezing the redhead's waist, and she smiled.

"Yeah, it's always nice to know I have a boyfriend who can pick my up when I miss the bus." She glanced over at me and smiled even more brightly, if that were possible. "Hey, I'm Layla. Are you new this year?"

I nodded, smiling back. "My name's Kat."

Layla's guy held out a hand with a friendly grin. "Will," he offered, and I nodded, shaking his hand firmly with an answering smile.

"Weill, it looks like you've met the whole crew, Kat," Zach said, ushering us in the general direction of the school, which seemed even bigger than I had thought as we flew in (in between trying not to puke up my guts, of course).

"Yeah, everyone but Warren," Ethan added.

"Who's Warren?" I asked curiously. No one had mentioned him before.

"Oh, Warren Peace," Will said over his shoulder. "He's a senior; if you don't meet him in your classes we'll introduce you at lunch."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I meet him in one of my classes?"

"Oh, it's the stupid hero-sidekick division," Magenta began.

"Stupid is right!" Layla interrupted. "I mean, you would think with what happened two years ago…" At my look of confusion, she elaborated. "At homecoming our freshman year, Royal Pain attacked the school, and the SIDEKICKS were able to defeat her, well the sidekicks and Will and Warren, anyway, but they still won't change the dumb, fascist system!"

She looked like she could go on for a while, so I quickly raised a hand when she stopped for breath. "But what's a sidekick? How do you become one? Who decides if you're a sidekick or a hero?"

"Boomer," Zach, Ethan and Magenta said together. Magenta rolled her eyes. "He's the gym coach, and he gets a total power trip from placing people in their 'classes'."

"Oh," I muttered. "Wonderful."

Layla rolled her eyes in turn. "Don't worry, Kat, you'll do fine, either way. Personally, I think sidekick is much better, but it doesn't matter what you get; we all learn the same thing eventually, anyway."

I smiled at her. "Thanks." Then I paused. "Hey, guys, where do I go for this thing?"

"The gym," Will put in. "Do you want me to show you the way? I go past it to my homeroom, anyway."

"Sure," I accepted, glad to be walking with someone instead of all alone. I waited, smiling patiently as will kissed Layla goodbye and whispered, "See you at lunch," and then we both waved to the rest of the guys as we headed off in the opposite direction.

I was silent for most of the way, trying to memorize everything Will was pointing out. _Cafeteria, library, principal's office, bathrooms, how am I supposed to remember it all?_ Whoever had laid out the building must have been a nut-job; the place was confusing as hell.

When we finally got to the gym, Will gave me a smile and patted my shoulder. "You'll do fine," he said confidently, then waved good-bye and headed off again.

With a sigh, I straightened my shoulders and walked in.

xxxxxxx

This was a nightmare. Layla was right, it was fascist! The evil coach-man-in-tighty-whities hauled you up on a platform in front of the class and then made you show everyone your power, after which he hollered either "HERO!" or "SIDEKICK!" I did hear one of the freshmen mutter, "The preferred term is 'hero-support', dude."

Finally, I heard him growl, "You, Pinky!" Glancing around and seeing no one else wearing pink, I took a breath and walked up the steps, turning to face the freshman class.

"So, what's your power, freshie?" he sneered.

I turned to face him, reining in my temper. "First of all, I'm not a freshman. I'm a junior. My name is Katheryn Brodie. And I'm a phaser."

He didn't respond, but pushed a button on a small remote he carried and called out, "Car."

I glanced up and saw a crumpled looking vehicle falling down towards me. With a yelp, I phased right through it, jumping down through the podium and backing away, ending up on the floor of the gym. "What are you, crazy?" I snarled. "You could kill someone!"

"Well, I didn't, did I?" He looked at me with little interest. "Hero."

"What?" I asked. "That was it?"

"Well, can you do anything else?" he asked impatiently.

"Well, not really, no," I hedged. Actually, I could, but I wasn't about to tell him that. My favorite professor had taught me to always keep a little in reserve for when you really need it, and in a new school full of wannabe-superheroes, who knew when you might need the element of surprise?

"Well, then get to class, fresh- ah, junior!" he growled in annoyance. Rolling my eyes once I'd turned away, I headed out of the gym and to the office to pick up my schedule. Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was almost lunchtime. How had that stupid power placement taken so long, anyway?

I decided to stop at my locker and drop off my stuff, then head to the cafeteria, one of the few places I _did_ know how to get to.

I ordered a hoagie, then picked up my chocolate milk and headed out into the sea of students known as the cafeteria. Looking around, though, I couldn't spot any of my new friends. "Crap," I muttered. "Now what?"

There were almost no empty tables left, either. The only one I could spot that was even remotely open was close to the middle of the room. One guy sat there, his long dark hair covering his face as he read a book. Well, I could certainly sympathize. _Hell, I'd want to ignore all this crap too, _I thought, hearing two gossiping girls in passing. _Ugh_.

I stepped up to the table. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full," I added as I sat my tray down, not really waiting for an answer.

The guy raised his head slowly. "Did I _say_ you could sit there?" he snarled at me. _Wait, is that the guy from last night?_

"Do I know you?" I asked, attempting to ignore his attitude.

"No," he muttered, giving me the death glare.

"My mistake," I said, annoyed. _Liar. See, this is why I've sworn off guys. _ "Don't worry, I won't bother you any more, your highness." I yanked my own novel out of my bag and plopped it open in front of me. _The Count of Monte Cristo_; one of my all-time favorites. I was just getting into one of Mercedes' scenes when I glanced back up, only to find him still staring at me.

"Yes?" I asked with exaggerated patience.

"Why are you still here?" he accused.

"'Cause I apparently like to torture myself, you—"

"Hey, Warren!" Layla's cheerful voice exclaimed.

I was amazed at the sudden transformation of evil-man's face. "Hey, Hippie," he greeted with a half-grin. _So, yeah, I noticed the nice smile last night. He's an asshole; what's the matter with me?_

The rest of the crew surrounded us and sat down, but I was to busy staring at the dark-haired guy to really pay attention. "So, you're Warren? The one they were telling me about?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" he asked defensively, the angry look beginning to reappear on his face.

"Chill, man," Will interjected. "This is Kat. She's new."

"Doesn't explain why she's here," Warren muttered.

"Well, I was going to sit and eat lunch with my new friends. Guess not, though," I said angrily as I stood, putting my book back in my bag.

"Wait," Magenta said quickly, pulling me back down. "Don't leave. Warren's just a little shy around new people. Isn't that right, 'hothead'?" she teased.

I watched, amazed as Warren rolled his eyes and relaxed. Okay, so he was a totally different person around these guys. Right. But what about me?

"So, where did Boomer put you?" Ethan asked, his mouth a bit full.

"Yeah, what's your power, anyway?" Zach added. "You never told us."

"I'm a phaser," I said matter-of-factly. "And he put me in with the heroes."

"Awesome!" Will exclaimed. "You're with me and Warren, then, for Hero class. It's a required subject, where they teach you 'how to be a hero'. Totally boring, but whatever. The juniors and seniors are in together this year, since one of the teachers left."

I smiled, saying "Great!" But then I glanced over at Warren, who was back to watching me with the death-glare.

_Yippee._

xxxxxxx

a/n: Ok, I didn't have a lot of time to proofread it, but I figured you guys would want it right away, so forgive the editing mistakes, k? I'll fix it as soon as I can! R&R!


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